If No. 1-ranked Washington County is going to be tested at any time before the playoffs begin, it may have to come this week. The Golden Hawks travel to Augusta to play an athletic and well-coached Laney team to possibly determine the Region 3-AAA championship.
“This is a big-time test,” Washington County coach Joel Ingram said. “They’re battle tested. If the conditions are right and Laney is hot, they’re tough to beat. We’ve got to be able to match their intensity.”
The two teams were at the same summer camp during the same week. Ingram has a friendly relationship with Laney coach Lemuel Lackey.
No one has come close to Washington County (5-0) this season. The Hawks have scored 232 points, including 71 last week against Glenn Hills. They’ve allowed 44, 27 of those against Class AAAA ranked Burke County. Waco has two shutouts.
The offense is led by quarterback A.J. Gray, a Georgia Tech commitment who is considered by many scouting services as the best player in the state. He has rushed for 591 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“We’re still trying to find our way,” Ingram said. “We’ve got to find players to go around him. We know everyone’s first option is to stop him, so we can’t rest on our laurels.”
There isn’t one standout running back, rather the Hawks use several, including Darius Tucker, Ethan Ray and Justin Lawrence. Tucker had 79 yards and two touchdowns last week.
The Waco defense is led by linebacker Will Callaway, a Mercer commitment who has 60 tackles and forced four fumbles, and end Logan Hunt, a Georgia Southern commitment who has five sacks. Gray has already returned two interceptions for touchdowns.
“The defense has been the catalyst,” Ingram said. “They’ve put us in great situations.”
Laney has played an ambitious schedule. The Wildcats (2-2) have losses against No. 6 Westminster and then-ranked Elbert County.
Washington County leads the series 9-5. The Golden Hawks have won the last two meetings, but the teams haven’t played since 2003.
Adairsville at Calhoun: This game should determine the Region 6-AAA championship, since both have already beaten Ringgold. Calhoun is 5-0 and ranked No. 2 and Adairsville is 4-0 and ranked No. 10. The game features two outstanding quarterbacks in Calhoun's Kaelen Riley and Adairsville's Marcus Childers.
Both teams are offensive machines. Calhoun averages 37.6 points behind what coach Hal Lamb said was “the best offensive line we’ve had in a while and the biggest.” That includes Jack Defoor (6-4, 260) and Drew McEntyre (6-2, 260). Adairsville averages 39.2, with the line anchored by Phoenix Brown (6-2, 260), Jaylon Beasley(6-3, 240) and Dorian Pitt (6-5, 340).
Calhoun leads the series 15-9 and has won the last nine meetings, the most recent coming in 2009.
Elbert County at Jefferson: Someone, please, call if you've know of a team that's played a more difficult stretch to open the season than Elbert County. The Blue Devils (3-2) have beaten Cedar Shoals, Stephens County and Laney and lost to state-ranked opponents Westminster and Hart County. It doesn't get any easier this week when Elbert plays at Jefferson.
That’s because the No. 4-ranked Dragons (5-0) have been mowing over teams with ease and last week opened the Region 8-AAA schedule by beating Jackson County 34-7. Even though Elbert is wounded, with quarterback Mecole Hardman still out following knee surgery, the Blue Devils will definitely be the best team that Jefferson has played this year.
Jefferson is led by quarterback Evan Shirreffs, who has thrown for 1,043 yards and 10 touchdowns, and the two-headed running back tandem of Sammy Williams (465 yards, eight TDs) and Colby Wood (405 yards, seven TDs).
Elbert County leads the series 4-1-1, including a 14-0 decision in their most recent meeting in 2011.
Banks County at Fannin County: Quarterback Goodwin Griffin leads the Banks County offense, which put up more than 400 yards in last week's 22-21 loss to Franklin County. The Leopards lost the game when they decided to try for a two-point conversion and the victory instead of kicking the PAT and going to overtime.
Fannin County (2-2) is running a new hurry-up spread offense under first-year coach Jim Pavao. Results have been mixed, with the Rebels winning two games by blowouts and losing two games by blowout. The Rebels have traditionally been a physical team with a solid homefield advantage.
Fannin County leads the series 5-3, including a 6-0 decision last season.
Jackson at Westside Macon: Jackson is 3-1 and are in the process of bouncing back from last year's 2-8 record. Jackson's Wing-T attack is led by quarterback Sha'Covian Douglas and Antavius Grier, a real game-changer as a return man. The offensive line is big and experienced behind Robert Reeves, Justin smith and Telvin Usher.
No. 7-ranked Westside (5-0) has had only one close game, a six-point win over Harris County. Everything else has come easily to the Seminoles, who average 40.2 points. Running back Cedric Hollingshed leads the prolific Westside attack.
Although Westside and Peach County remain the favorites, Jackson will have something to say about the Region 2-AAA playoff structure. This is the first meeting between the two teams.
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